granddaughter coraline

granddaughter coraline

grandson mason

grandson mason

grandson jaxson

grandson jaxson

Monday, September 24, 2007

17-21SEP07 - Monroe, WA








We have spent the last week not really doing or accomplishing anything. We have been waiting for our mail to catch up and at the same time we needed to get Dan’s computer repaired. We have a mail service that mails our mail to nearest post office when we tell them to. Normally they send the mail priority and we get it within three days. Unfortunately this time our service sent our mail normal mail, and we still haven’t seen it!

Meanwhile, Dan’s old computer started to crash left and right. He had purchased a new laptop prior to our departure, but it uses Microsoft’s new operating system “Vista”. Some of his critical software (including e-mail) will not work on Vista, thus the need to run two computers. Now facing the loss of all his business files, Dan was forced to find someone to save his files and get it all the new laptop. We had more luck solving the computer problem, then getting our mail.

Each day having to stop by the post office to check on the mail, and then later call or go to computer store interfered with doing any site seeing beyond the local area. We did take one day to walk around Snohomish, the antique capital of the northwest. Snohomish was a lumber mill town that fell on hard times in the 70s. The lumber industry has not come back, but the town is very nicely restored and has not become a tourist trap. Snohomish has started a “new tradition” that acknowledges the area’s raining season called Ground Frog Day. On Feb 02 they see if the frog “Snohomish Slew” can see his shadow. If he does, it predicts six more weeks of wet and soggy! If he doesn’t, it means six more weeks of soggy and wet! We also spent a lot of time just watching the salmon jumping in the Snohomish River as they return to spawn. To finish a great day we purchased fresh little neck manila clams and dungeness crab to cook back at the RV.

http://www.shopsnohomish.com/groundfrogday/index.cfm

We also spent time enjoying the activities that seem to go on constantly at the Fairgrounds. Turns out most of the week the Northwest Quarterhouse Congress was in progress. And on Saturday we woke up to find over fifty suped-up Hondas of different types driven by young males waiting in line to get into the race track. Turns out they had reserved the track for “drift racing” (if you don’t know what drift racing is, check out any of the Fast and the Furious DVDs). Must be nice to be able to spend thousands on modifying your car and then burn up close to a thousand dollars in tires on a Saturday.

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